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how do you create that scratched effect for paint. i have done 2 layers of silver, then 2 layers of white (MY CHOSEN ARMOUR COLOUR) but when i start sanding down the white, it eiter dosent take enough off, or goes straight through the silver and into the filler! do i need to put a coating over the silver, like a scratch resistant coating?

First, please post your questions in the proper help thread. It will help you immensely for getting your question answered properly. I had to move your post from the "Forum Usage" thread to here.

As far as the wear painting effect, this is the technique Sean showed me. After you have done your silver coating and let it dry, used a hand paint brush to add a resist material in the patterns and places you don't want the white to be. The thing that Sean has found to work best for this resist material is simply cheap toothpaste. Once you have all the resist/toothpaste in place, you can spray over it with your white paint. After it drys, you can use a damp sponge or towel to wipe away where the white paint where the toothpaste is laying underneath giving you that wear and tear look. It takes a bit of practice to apply the right amount so don't worry if you don't exactly get it the way you want it the couple first times.

I am not sure exactly what you mean when you say scratch, but if you mean you want the "metal" to show through the white then i can help you with that.
Step 1: Take some mustard from the kitchan, or toothpaste from bathroom.
Step 2: With whatever kind of paste you chose ( i am gonna referter to mustarrd throught this awsner) bring your armor inside, over the kitchen sink.
Step 3: You should have already painted your armor the "metal" color, but not your armor color
Step 4: Take your Mustard, and open the cap.
Step 5: Start put lines of mustard onto your armor of where you want the silver to show through the color of your armor (usually around edges, and high points)
Step 6: Paint your armor however you want to after you put on the mustard (leave the mustard on until you are done painting!)
Step 7: after everything is dry, take a cloth, or paper towl or whatever, and start to wipe off the mustard. it will take a few passes because the mustard will squirt out and other stuff...
Step 8: Make sure you have gotten all the mustard off, and then where the Mustard just was, the silver paint will be showing through!
Step 9 (Not needed): Mix black, grey, and white water based paint (like the apple barrel brand) together in a bowl, add some water, and then take a brush, and just slather it on thickly and quickly. then, quickly wipe it all off with a paper towl, it should leave dark streaks and shadowing..
Step 10: Seal your armor with clear coat!

Hope this helped!

You could also try the Dry brush method. Use a small brush and coat it very lightly with spray paint or only dip the very tip into the bottle, then wipe the majority off on a rag or towel. Now brush lightly starting at the edges or corners in your armor and paint inwards so that you have the effect of fading into your overcoat color. Be patient and don't over do it.

before you went over the silver with the white you were supposed to squirt mustard, toothpaste or vasoline on the areas you wanted to keep silver and make look like chips. You have 2 options here, either repaint the piece silver and do the condiment thing, or dry brush silver spraypaint on it with a cheap paintbrush.

I found the brush method surprisingly easy. Gave the brush a one second burst of chrome spray paint and then just hit the edges, and smudged some of the flat surfaces with the brush almost dry.

One thing I did learn is to do the black (when you spray then wipe it down to give it that dirty weathered look) wait untill your base coat is all the way dried (read cured after 24hrs) or when you try to wipe it will pull on the base coat and not come off even. In the end it worked out for me because those spots looked like burn marks.

AH!!!! NONONONONO!!!! Not toothpaste or that crud! It gives you a very soft edge. For combat chips, you want HARD edged chips, straight lines and jagged lines. Not curvey stuff. What you want to do is use masking tape in the shape of the chip you want, and possibliy combine it with salt. Wet the area, sprinkle salt, and let dry. Spray, and remove. That gives you a very jagged edge that looks like shrapnel blasts and chipping. toothpaste makes it look totally unrealistic, unless you're trying to mask off say a burn mark.

Anybody know of a place (for sure) to get gunmetal gray spraypaint. Not quite as dark as black primer, but just light enough to notice a color variation?

I've looked online, at home depot, hobby lobby, and wal-mart and I cannot seem to find the right shade.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

I've used Ghost Grey Flat Spray Paint from Wal-Mart for things in the past it's pretty close to Gun Metal.

Now my helpful painting tip: To give your armor a worn and metal showing look this is what you need to do to it. First coat the armor with primer, grey red or black does'nt matter, but I would stick with grey or black primer. Now get chrome paint and spray areas that you will want to show out, now after you have sprayed a couple coats in the areas you want it to show spray your armor color on top of the chrome paint once it dries take a very fine grit sandpaper and scratch away a little of the top coat to reveal the chrome underneath, try to not go through the chrome to the primer which is why you do more than one coat of chrome in the areas you want to show up.

If all else fails, you can get an airbrush set and mix the colour yourself. That is more work though, because with airbrush it isn't just open-empty-trash - you'll actually have to clean that afterwards ;-)

Thanks for the advice guys

I'll check wal-mart again Nintendude, thanks. I probably should look at getting an airbrush at some point in the future. Ventrue, do you suggest any particular brush? Perhaps one geared for mid-sized objects like props?

I'm afraid not, I was just pointing them out as an alternative. I have never gotten around to actually buy one myself because they are so much more work than a simple paintbrush (which was totally sufficient for the 1:72 models I used to work on) or even a spray can (as I said: Open, use, throw away.. :-)).